1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a snap closure type buckle with quick release clasps. More particularly, the invention relates to a buckle, for use with an infant carrier or high chair, for example, where both clasps can be released with one hand.
2. The Prior Art
Snap closure type buckles are known for removably connecting the ends of straps together for a variety of applications. These snap closure type buckles are frequently used for children's high chairs and car seats to strap the child's legs and/or shoulders into the seat. The shortcomings of these known high chair and car seat strap arrangements are evidenced by a large number of commercial devices in use today as well as a large number of patents issuing on devices attempting to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,569,106 to Lovato discloses a buckle with two identical engageable parts. U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,032 to Crowle discloses a side release buckle and U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,548 to Mason discloses a safety seat for vehicles. However, none of these patents discloses a buckle arrangement where a main buckle is coupled to a crotch strap and each of the leg or shoulder straps are independently engageable with the main buckle. In addition, none of the patents show a buckle where the two leg/shoulder straps can be independently released from the buckle by pressure from a single finger, or simultaneously released from the buckle with one hand alone.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide an inexpensive molded buckle where two clasps can be independently engaged with the main buckle and only one hand is needed to release one or both clasps.